Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Police have surrounded the French supermarket, as the BBC's Lucy Williamson reports
A gunman is believed to have killed at least two people during a hostage-taking at a supermarket in Trèbes, southern France.
An operation involving elite police is continuing at the Super U shop, where others were wounded.
Reports say the gunman, who remains in the supermarket, pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.
Earlier, a policeman was shot and wounded while jogging with colleagues in Carcassonne, a 15-minute drive away.
He was shot in the shoulder by the same suspect involved in the supermarket hostage-taking but is not critically injured, Yves Lefebvre, secretary-general of the SGP Police-FO union told the Associated Press.
Trèbes Mayor Eric Menassi told BFM TV that the gunman was now alone in the shop with one police officer, after other hostages were freed.
The suspect is said to be heavily armed and asking for the release of Salah Abdeslam, the most important surviving suspect in the 13 November 2015 Paris attacks, which killed 130 people.
Reports say the suspect is known to French intelligence services and that his mother is at the scene.
A security source told French news agency AFP that most employees and customers at the supermarket "managed to flee".
Prime Minister Édouard Philippe said the situation was "serious" and that all signs pointed towards a "terrorist act".
Hundreds of police officers have been deployed to the area, and the vicinity has been cordoned off.
Counter-terrorism prosecutors are leading the investigation but few details have been provided.
France has been hit with several deadly jihadist attacks since 2015 and has been on high alert since. A state of emergency put in place after the 2015 attacks in Paris was lifted in October.
In February, Salah Abdeslam went on trial in Belgium over a shootout in Brussels that led to his capture months after the Paris attacks. He is not expected to go on trial in France until 2020 at the earliest.
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mrslittle on March 23rd, 2018 at 11:33 UTC »
Trebes mayor has tweeted all hostages freed. Gunmen in supermarket with one police officer.
eniotan on March 23rd, 2018 at 11:24 UTC »
Updates via french TV news:
The suspect has declared himself a soldier of ISIS two victims seen lying on ground in supermarket - conditions unknown french news talks about one gunman the assailant is now alone in the supermarket and the hostages have left the building sources are saying 2 dead and 12 injured in the supermarket Suspect is apparently known to French anti-terrorist police. Suspect is apparently demanding the release of Salah Abdelsalm, the surviving Paris attacker. wounded police officer is seriously injuredPolice go in SUSPECT DOWN
Security sources saying suspect has been killed.
Unilythe on March 23rd, 2018 at 11:12 UTC »
This is in Trèbes, South France, which is close to Carcassonne.
From inside a car, shots were first fired at cops, after which the shooter drove off and ran into the supermarket and took hostages.
One cop was shot in the shoulder, and is being treated. He is stable, but the bullet passed his heart by only 3cm.
The gunman claims to be "avenging" IS.
By now the area is surrounded by the police.
Allegedly, the attacker fatally shot the butcher of the supermarket, and injured another hostage
Also allegedly, the attacker is in possession of grenades
Confirmed 2 dead and (at least?) 3 injured, of which 1 is in critical condition.
Some 20 people managed to escape while the shooter started taking hostages in the supermarket.
Attacker demands Salah Abdeslam to be released. Salah Abdeslam is the only surviving terrorist of the Paris terrorist attacks in 2015.
It's over, the terrorist was shot and killed
/u/StealthyStalkerPanda has much more detailed info in his comment here